1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suspension control system used for an automobile.
2. Description of the Background Art
One type of suspension control system that uses a damping force inversion shock absorber has already been known.
In such a suspension control system, when the direction of the absolute velocity of the vehicle body is upward, the damping force is controlled so that the damping characteristics for the extension stroke are "hard", whereas those for the retraction stroke are "soft". On the other hand, when the direction of the absolute velocity is downward, the control system effects control such that the extension damping characteristics are "soft", whereas the retraction damping characteristics are "hard".
With the conventional control system, when a wheel of the vehicle falls into a depression, since the direction of the absolute velocity of the vehicle body is downward, the damping characteristics for the extension stroke become "soft". Accordingly, before the wheel reaches the road surface, the shock absorber is brought into a full-bounce (full-extended) state, causing the ride quality to be degraded. When the wheel of the vehicle runs onto a projection, since the direction of the absolute velocity of the vehicle body is upward, the damping characteristics for the retraction stroke become "soft", so that the shock absorber is brought into a full-bump (full-retracted) state, causing the ride quality to be degraded.